Yume Genjitsu
by Insomniac Jaki
Summary: [SetoJoey, Shonenai] Joey's the victim of abuse! Will he ever tell anyone? Seto's gettin' suspicious. Oh, wow, that summary sucked so much, it's not even funny. Also, there is humor, so do not dispair!
1. D

_**Yume Genjitsu**_

_**Chapter One: D**_

_Joey_

_Blood. Everywhere. Alcohol. A scream. It fades. Yelling. Blackout. **(1)**_

_&-&-&_

Joey awoke in a pool of blood. His blood, to be exact. Every part of his body ached. His once beautiful blond hair was matted with dry blood. Dark purple bruises and scars marred his pale skin. The distinct smell of alcohol reached his nose and he crinkled it in disgust. That was not the smell he wanted to wake up to, yet one he had awoken to since he was seven.

Unsteadily, Joey climbed to his feet, a fresh wave of pain and dizziness washing over him. He groaned a bit, but stifled it when he realized that the possibility of his dad being home was very likely. Looking around, having to strain his eyes in the darkness, and listening carefully, he made his way to the bathroom. He paused briefly by his room –small, with one window that was covered with tarp because there was now glass, a bed that would was more of a cot, and a locked closet that had his book bag and all things valuable in it- to get some fresh clothes, medical tape, some –more like a lot- of gauze, and a jar of medical cream that his grandmother and sister taught him how to make.

His grandmother, from his mother's side, had worked for a hospital when she was younger. After she retired Joey would visit her all the time; half of the time because of the injuries he got in fights and from his dad –though she didn't know this, Joey knew she suspected it. She had decided that because he always got hurt she would teach him a few remedies. Also, she taught Serenity, too, in case she died and Joey couldn't help himself or get help. He smiled painfully at the memory. Shaking his head slightly, so as not to give himself a headache, he continued on his way to the bathroom, limping a little.

When he reached his destination, he closed and locked the door, not wanting any disruptions. He took a quick look at the watch on his wrist. The glass was shattered and he could see small shards of glass imbedded in his skin. The watch still worked, though, and said the time was 4:57 a.m. He groaned, this time not bothering to stifle it. It was _way_ too early to be up. But, ignoring that fact, he set about stripping of his tattered clothes, cleaning, and bandaging his fresh wounds, occasionally coming across a few shards of beer bottles and watch glass.

The process was slow and painful. He stripped of everything he had on, leaving him naked and shivering in the middle of the small bathroom. Then he wet a washcloth with cold water and wiped the blood off himself. He knew his body probably would not be able to handle the water if he used the bath.

So, now that he was naked, cold, and covered in cold water, which only seemed to make him colder and his cuts sting more, he could apply the medical cream, then bandage himself up, and finally get dressed in some clean clothes. He took a cotton ball, dabbed it into the medical cream, and gently applied it to a cut on his bare chest.

Gritting his teeth together, Joey forced himself not to scream. That stuff hurt! But, he knew that that was just the extremely painful process of disinfection. He looked at himself grimly in the mirror. "Great, only a thousand more!" However, it was nothing new…

_&-&-&_

His watch said 5:21 a.m. Joey lay in his bed, hoping to get another hour of sleep before the school started. It didn't look like that was about to happen, though. He had finished bandaging all his cuts a few minutes ago and had washed his hair in the bathroom sink, and now he had nothing to do except sleep; except sleep continued to elude him. He sighed and got up. _Looks like I'll have to sleep in class again._

He had not bothered himself with putting on pajamas because he knew he would only get back up again later to face the day. _And school._ Also, he knew he might not even get to sleep and would end up leaving. Therefore, he slowly put on his shoes and left the house with his backpack slung over his right shoulder.

As Joey walked down the street his stomach let out an inhuman, er, stomach growl. The early birds around him –around six people in total- stared at him strangely and a few of the closer ones inched away slowly. Joey couldn't help but grin sheepishly, but then frowned. What food place was open at 5:20 in the morning? His walking slowed to a stop as he thought. Then, the all-knowing metaphorical light bulb, which was said to never appear before Joey, went on in his head and he smacked his forehead. This, in turn, caused a colossal headache. "Owwww!" Joey cried, causing already nervous pedestrians to turn tail and flee. Joey took no notice to this, though. After a minute, the headache subsided and he resumed his train of thought.

_Duh, why didn't I think of that before!_ Joey cried questioningly in his head. _I can go to the Osuwari Inu Café!_ And with that, Joey dashed toward the Osuwari Inu Café **(2)**!

The Osuwari Inu Café was open 24/7. Joey had only been there once before, and had found the name odd. The name came from the fact that the owner had a dog training area in the back, where he, of course, trained dogs. The dogs where also given a plate of food as a reward when a dog did something successfully. From that one time at the Café Joey knew why the dogs loved the food. It was _delicious_! Joey had promised himself that he would come back again, and now was the perfect chance!

_&-&-&_

When he reached the Café it was empty except for three people and the workers. He went in and sat at table and a waitress handed him a menu. He accepted it gladly and allowed his stomach to choose the food. After a minute of thinking, and some grumbling on his stomach's part, he decided on a cheeseburger and a coke. While he waited for his order, he looked around. The Café could not really be called a Café; it was more of a diner. But, hey, he wasn't complaining. Osuwari Inu Café sounded so much better than Osuwari Inu Diner, ne?

_Seto_

Cobalt blue eyes opened blearily and the CEO of Kaiba Corp. shot up into a sitting position. He was _not_ supposed to be sleeping. He was _supposed_ to be finishing his game **(3)**! A few months after the big five had forced him to go through the hellishly modified game he decided he would fix it, then put it in arcades, sell it, and see how it went.

He stared at the laptop screen blankly. His mind was unfocused and the words on it were beginning to mix, forming a mess of incomprehensible babble. He pinched the bridge of his nose to stop the oncoming headache. He really did not need to be awake at –he looked at his clock in the bottom right corner of the screen on his laptop- 5:20 in the morning! He wanted to yell. Seto had promised his little brother, Mokuba, that he would be home before midnight. Mokuba hated to see his older brother work so hard.

If he was lucky, Mokuba would save the waterworks and just yell. It was hard for Seto to see his only living family cry, especially if it was because of something he did. Sighing, he stood, stretching to loosen his muscles. He shut off his laptop and grabbed his suitcase, exiting his office and, shortly after, Kaiba Corp., heading home. It wasn't a long walk to his mansion. He wasn't going to bother with his limousine.

Several times on this route, he had taken note of the Osuwari Inu Café. He knew of the dog training facility in the back. Several times on this route, he found himself wondering if Joey ever went in there. It would fit, since Seto always called him a dog. Moreover, that would only give Seto something else to tease Joey about. However, only one time on this route had he ever been shocked. That one time was when he rounded the corner and saw, sitting in Osuwari Inu Café, the very mutt he oft mused about. He watched as Joey looked out the window and his heart nearly skipped a beat when his honey colored eyes landed on him.

_Joey_

Something, a flash of a blue trench coat, caught Joey's eyes as he looked out the window. There, staring at him with those beautiful, enticing –_No! That's wrong! He's a cold, heartless, sexy bastard! Oh, shit!_ He felt his face burn in embarrassment and fought the blush mental tooth and nail. Finishing his homework, which he had had no chance of doing last night due to… circumstances with his father, he packed up the work, paid for his food, and left the Café as quickly as he could. From there he went to the closed school, where he waited until it opened.

_&-&-&_

When the school finally opened, Joey had entered and headed straight for his locker. He grabbed the books he needed for his first two classes –Math and History- and went to the class. Shortly after other kids filed in, too. Yugi and Tea sat down on either side of him while Tristan sat in front of him.

"Hey, Joey, you look awful!" Yugi exclaimed with worry. "You look so pale!"

Joey smiled. Sweet little Yugi. Always concerned with everyone but himself. So unselfish. "No reason ta worry, I'm fine." Joey thought he heard a snort and turned to look for the source. His eyes met cobalt blue and he felt himself blush. His earlier thoughts about the brunet coming back to haunt him.

He was snapped out of his thoughts when Tristan asked, "Are you sure you're okay, man? You're face is all red, now."

"Course I am!" Joey replied cheerfully.

Tea laughed slightly and said, "It doesn't matter. Even if there where something wrong he would never admit it. His ego wouldn't allow it!" That had gotten them all to laugh, even Joey, though his seemed more forced. He felt someone watching him and looked around but everyone was minding his or her own business and Kaiba was back to reading his book. He shrugged it off and continued conversing with his friend until the teacher came and shouted for them to shut up.

_Seto_

Seto observed the blonde closely, who was with his herd of geeks. All throughout the day, he had watched him –from a safe distance. Though it was hard to see, Joey's smile seemed hollow. His eyes had lost that glimmer of determination that always seemed to be there. Seto also noted the bandages that were barely visible through the white school uniform shirt_. He probably got into a fight.' _Seto had silently told himself. Though, somewhere deep inside, he knew that to be a lie. He knew Joey had stopped fighting when Yugi had come to Domino High and they formed a friendship. _'Why do I care if the mutt is hurt or not?'_ _-Because you care about him.-_ Seto's conscience whispered into his ear. _Like Hell I do! Now, go away!_ And go away it did.

It disappeared and Seto approached Joey after his geeky friends had departed. "Hello, mutt." Seto said coldly. He got a glare in return. "Not a very good dog, are you? You should answer when your master calls."

"Shad up!" He began to walk away.

"What where you doing at the Café this morning? Getting training? That's good because you really need to learn some manners." This froze Joey in his tracks. He turned and asked:

"What'd you say?"

"You heard me, mutt." came Seto's cold reply. He held in his gasp when he saw the dead look in Joey's eyes. And, was that hurt? _No._ He mentally shook his head. Then Joey's eyes held that shining fire of determination and Seto was glad the other look was gone.

"I'm not a mutt, Kaiba!" Joey spat angrily, and then stormed away. Seto smiled. That was the blonde pup he knew. Then his smile faded.

The puppy was limping. And when Joey turned the corner farther down, Seto could have sworn he saw that dead look on his face again. He mumbled something along the lines of, "My mind's just playing tricks". Nevertheless, he could not help but look back and ask himself, "What happened to you, Joey?"

He mentally berated himself for calling the _mutt_ Joey. Still, he could not help but wonder…

_&-&**Y**ou can't see what I hide&-&-& **(4)**_

_A/N:_

**(1) **This, I swear, has no real meaning, okay? See, when I first got the idea, I wrote random words that I would associate with abuse, and these came out, I just decided to post them at the beginning of the chapter.

**(2) **"Osuwari Inu" means "Sit Dog", okay?

**(3)** I'm not sure if he already decided to send it out anyway or not, but oh well.

**(4) **These, at the bottom of the chapter, are lines from a poem I wrote especially for this fic. It's acrostic, and you'll see what it spells out, but you'll probably get it halfway through.

This is being revamped. That is all. Well, bye!

Insomniac Jaki


	2. R

Updated 5/3/05

Yume Genjitsu

Chapter Two: R

Joey

Pain lanced through his hand and up his arm as Joey pulled the last piece of glass out. He hissed and as he added the medical cream his hiss turned into a yelp of pain. He finished off his work by bandaging his hand then dressing in his school clothes. Grabbing his backpack, Joey stepped out of the small, rundown apartment he and his dad lived in and began his trek to the Kame Game Shop.

As he passed a vending machine that was conveniently placed outside a store he stopped and got a Twix Bar. After all, what better way to start the day then with a Twix Bar(1)! Besides, he had a good feeling about today! He just knew something good would happen! He continued on his way -still limping unnoticeably, but most of the pain from the day before had subsided- while eating the first Twix like a garbage disposal. He opted to save the second Twix for later so stuffed it into his school jacket. When the Kame game shop came into view Joey stuffed his hands into his pocket, unconsciously gripping the last Twix(2), and approached his awaiting friends with a happy grin on his face.

"Hey, guys!" Joey greeted with enthusiasm. He still couldn't help but think, Today feels like an awesome day! Good things are sure to come if I feel like this! Even after last night!'At that last thought Joey's light-hearted attitude faltered, but on the outside he continued grinning brightly.

"Hey, Joey!" Yugi and Tea chorused.

"Hey, man! What's up? You look much better than yesterday!" Tristan slung an arm around Joey's shoulder in a friendly manner. No one except Yami -who was floating in a transparent state over his Hikari's left shoulder(3)- noticed Joey's slight wince.

"I just have a good feeling about today, that's all!" replied Joey happily. In his mind he sighed contentedly. 'It feels good to tell the truth for once.' Everything seemed to be going perfectly. But the keyword is seemingly. And not all is as it seems.

While making their way to school they talked animatedly about the latest Dual Monsters cards that Pegasus recently released(4). It nearly gave all of them a heart attack when Yugi stopped in the middle of the street to dig through his brown book bag for something… RIGHT IN FRONT OF A FUCKING CAR! The car's horn blared. Joey and Tristan each grabbed an arm and dragged him out of the street. As the car sped by the driver yelled, "Watch where ya' goin' next time, Damn Kids!" In response Joey flipped him off.

Yugi was unfazed by all of this. "Yugi! Don't do that again!" Tea screeched. He merely looked at her in confusion, obviously unaware that he had almost become road kill. He continued his search in his book bag and Tea sighed in exasperation.

Producing four fortune cookies from his bag, Yugi exclaimed "Aha!" Joey wondered silently, 'What normal person stops in the middle of the street for that?' then mentally slapped himself. 'What normal kid has a five-thousand year old pharaoh living in an ancient puzzle, saves the world by dueling, and has magic items?'

"Grandpa got a shipment of these last night and I thought you might like some."

Each of them took one and Tristan asked: "Isn't your shop a game shop? Then why are you selling Fortune Cookies?"

"Grandpa thinks it might improve business. Rumors have it that these type of Fortune Cookies have fortunes that always come true." While Joey listened to his explanation he cracked open the cookie and took out the small white slip of paper hidden inside. He popped the cookie into his mouth(5) and read the fortune.

'Be wary of the rooms you walk into.'

"This is a fortune?" Joey wondered aloud. Yugi, Tea, and Tristan looked over at Joey's fortune. "Sounds more like a warning to me."

"Wow, that's weird." Tea muttered. Joey nodded in agreement.

"I bet it's just a load of Bologna ." Tristan went back to his own fortune which something about not doing to well in the financial department. Yugi and Tea took a last look at Joey's bizarre fortune before studying their own again.

Tea's said something like "Your love life will not improve anytime soon." At that, Tea growled, crumpled it up, and threw it in a nearby trashcan. Yugi's was: "Your true love will reveal them self soon." When he read that, Yugi had blushed a nice deep shade of red and, though no one saw it, Yami did, too. They had all had a good laugh at that and Joey's fortune was forgotten for the moment. Joey stuffed the slip of paper into his pocket, where he left it till the end of the day.

End Of Day

Seto

Yelling. That was all he was focused on. Yelling. No. He wasn't yelling. Far from it. He was listening to yelling. Problem was, he couldn't find the source of the annoying racket. He was wandering the halls of Domino High, silently wondering where everyone was. Then Seto remembered, 'Everyone's at the baseball game.'

There was a small stadium at the back of the school where their own team played against those from other schools. Today just happened to be one of those days when they had a game. Seto wasn't a big fan of baseball, but Mokuba loved it. He let Mokuba watch the game, saying that he was walking home. But, Seto had to pick up his Math book, which he had forgotten in his locker. He was on his way to get it, that is, until the cries of "help" and the yelling started. And that's where he was now; following the many calls of "help" and "let me out".

Suddenly, Seto found himself in the cafeteria, heading toward the cafeteria's kitchen. All of the lights were off and the yells were continually getting louder with his approach toward the back. Soon, he seemed to be right on it. To his left was the kitchen's iron freezer door. He walked toward it, seeing it shake slightly. The yelling abruptly stopped, as did the slight shaking of the door.

"Ow!" emitted from the closed door. Seto couldn't help it, he chuckled slightly. All noise behind the door immediately ceased. Seto looked at the door curiously.

"Hello?" Seto wanted to look into the small freezer door window but it was dark and completely covered in a thin sheet of ice. For some reason he hesitated -'Why does that voice sound familiar?'- before replying with "Hi?" He heard a sigh of relief.

"Could you open the door?" asked whoever was stuck inside. Seto grasped the iron handle, which chilled his hand to the bone, pulled on it, and opened the door. Inside, sitting on the icy floor, which was littered with various objects, was Joey. He waved and grinned sheepishly. "Hi!"

"How long have you been in here?" Seto asked, somewhat concerned. He silently wondered why he cared but brushed it off. Joey tapped his chin, thinking for a minute.

"About fifteen minutes, I guess." He muttered. Seto nodded.

"Well, here you go. Door's open." He was about to walk away and get his Math book then leave the school, when he heard Joey.

"Wait!"

Seto turned back and his steely Cobalt gaze met Joey's, currently, shy honey brown one. "What?" Seto asked rather calmly to the obvious surprise of Joey.

"I, uh," he paused and looked down, blushing in embarrassment. "I need your, um, h-help…" Seto was caught off guard. All Seto could do was raise an eyebrow questioningly. Joey glanced up quickly and met his eyes before looking down again while blushing even more. "I can't move. I slipped on some ice and broke my, uh, ankle."

Sighing, Seto stepped into the big, walk in freezer, leaned down, and picked up Joey bridal style. He saw Joey turn his head and blush and Seto couldn't help but think, 'Joey looks so cute when he blushes.' Then he himself ended up blushing. But Joey didn't see it, as his head was turned to hide his own blush.

Then Seto noticed how Joey's eyes widened comically. He looked to the door, where Joey's eyes rested, and his eyes, too, widened. He was frozen to the spot as the iron freezer door closed shut, leaving then in complete darkness. One coherent thought passed through Seto's mind repeatedly.

'Shit.'

Joey

The door closed and Joey's only thought at that moment was; Shit!'

The freezer filled with darkness and silence and neither of them moved. Seto finally set Joey back on the icy floor, against the freezer wall, and sat down next to him. "Now what?" Joey asked.

For a moment Seto didn't reply, and Joey became unexplainably panicked, though it passed when Seto finally responded. "We sit and wait." Joey blinked in surprise at the simplicity of the statement.

"But don't you have a cell phone or something on you?"

"I left my cell phone with Mokuba," Seto sighed. "And brought nothing else with me." They resumed sitting in silence, when Seto suddenly asked; "Why were you in here in the first place?"

Joey blushed, though it wasn't seen in the darkness. "I fell asleep in class for the sixth time this week. I got detention. I had to help clean up the kitchen. I was hauling some leftover crap into the freezer, slipped and broke my ankle, and the door shut. I guess the cooks thought I had left, 'cause they went out to the baseball game(6). I threw things at the door and yelled for help." That was his simple explanation, put in simple words.

They lapsed into a comfortable silence, listening to each other's breathing.

&-&-&

An hour passed and they continued on like that. It was then that Joey realized just how cold it really was in the relatively big freezer. He began to shiver slightly. From his right, Joey could make out Seto's silhouette. Seto shifted, moving closer to Joey. He saw Seto move around a bit, then felt something warm cover him. "Here." Joey heard Seto say rather softly. Joey realized with surprise that it was the blue trench coat that Seto constantly wore.

Joey automatically snuggled into the warmth of it. "Thanks." He muttered gratefully. He began feeling slightly tired, though he couldn't explain why. He unconsciously moved closer to Seto, drawn in by the warmth emanating from his body. Laying his head on Seto's shoulder he fell asleep. His last thought being 'For someone so cold, he sure is warm.'

Seto

Seto was slightly surprised when he felt the weight of Joey's head resting on his shoulder. Looking over and down he saw a flash of honey brown as Joey's eyes closed. Then he heard the calm breathing, and new Joey was currently dead to the world.

'This is my chance!' Seto thought. Moving slowly, so as not to wake the sleeping angel, he reached into his pocket and pulled out his keychain. Dangling from it were a few keys and a miniature flashlight. He flipped the switch of the flashlight and turned slightly(7) to Joey.

Checking to make sure he was still asleep, Seto lifted up Joey's white shirt. Underneath were the bandages that had constantly been on Joey's torso. Seto had only noticed them about two months ago, but he suspected they may have been there longer. He slowly, carefully, began to peel away the gauze.

His breath hitched, and he held back a gasp. Underneath were several gashes, cuts, and bruises. A particularly bad scar ran from Joey's shoulder to disappear under the rest of the gauze. This time, Seto didn't bother holding back his gasp when he felt an arm snake around his waste. Joey wrapped both arms around his waste and rested his head on Seto's chest, still sleeping. 'Well, this is a compromising situation.'

&-&-&

&-&-&Under the mask because I hide so well&-&-&

&-&-&

(1)Twix Bars rock! I'm I the only one who thinks so?

(2)I have this habit where I'll put my hand in my pocket and grip my pocket knife, like I expect something to happen. I guess I'm just paranoid.

(3)Yami has no body. He still lives in the puzzle and floats over Yugi's shoulder.

(4)Yeah, he came out with new cards. Why? Cause I say so.

(5)Am I the only one who thinks Fortune Cookies taste crappy? Not that I've ever tasted crap but you get my meaning, right. Anyways, these cookies taste good, not crappy.

(6)Wow, that sucks. Their school has a weird disciplinary system, okay? Good. …Besides, how else could I get them together?

(7)Am I the only one who has small keychain flashlights? And have you noticed I used "slightly" almost six times in only two half-POV changes? Wow, I feel weird, now.

A/N: Well, that's all. Sorry if it seemed rushed. If it did just tell me and I'll slow it down some. I plan on this being at least twelve chapters long. Guess what. Tomorrow, May fourth, is my birthday! And, no, I'm still not old enough to drive. Thanks to those who read and review! Tell me what you think of this in a review, alright? Well, Bye!

Insomniac Jaki


	3. E

Updated 6/5/05

Do the italics and bold show up?

_Yume Genjitsu_

_Chapter Two: E_

_Joey_

Opening his eyes slowly, Joey was greeted by the sight of the blue sky above him and white fluffy clouds floating past. He blinked in confusion. How did he get here? Wasn't he just stuck inside the school cafeteria's freezer? He pushed himself into a sitting position and looked around. To his right was the school and to his left the entrance into Domino High School's Courtyard. Oh, the courtyard. Of course, why wouldn't he be here? …Wait a minute…

'_The school courtyard?' _he asked himself. _'How did I get here?' _He attempted to get up, but pain shot up from his ankle, and he fell back to the grassy earth with a hiss of pain. Right, his ankle was broken. But, at least it didn't hurt as much as when it had in the freezer. Looking at it, he saw the a makeshift splint had been put on it, to keep it from breaking more_(1)_.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Came a cool voice from behind him, which sounded laced with concern to Joey's ears. He instantly knew who it was before even looking. He had heard that voice so many times he had memorized it. Even though then it had always been insulting him. Slowly, Joey turned to face Seto. "Your ankle's broken, remember?" Joey only nodded in reply, fighting the heat in his cheeks_(2)_.

After a few minutes of an awkward silence –or so he felt it was- Joey finally asked, "How did I get out here? Weren't we stuck in a freezer?"

"The janitor let us out after he heard me banging on the door." Seto replied. "I used the office phone and called my limo driver. He'll be here in a few minutes to take us to Domino Hospital to fix up your ankle." Joey nodded again. Another few minutes of silence passed, in which Seto sat beside Joey on the soft, green grass and he wondered why his enemy was being so nice to him. Of course, he had no desire to shatter the comfortable air which had settled around them, so he kept quiet.

An exceedingly cold breeze swept over them and he noticed the CEO of Kaiba Corp. shiver slightly. Then he noticed one little fact he had missed before: he was still wearing Seto's blue trench coat. He blushed and quickly took it off, handing it to the older teen beside him, and muttering, "Thanks."

For a moment their hands touched as Joey returned to coat and he turned his head to hide his completely flushed face. That simple contact had caused his heartbeat to skyrocket wildly. _'If only I could feel every curve of his body as he- WHOAH! BAD THOUGHTS! BAD, JOEY! BAD!' _he mentally berated himself for the direction his mind was going. _'Joey, you are such a pervert.' _Something warm brushed against his arm –knocking him out of his mental beatings- and he found that Seto's trench coat was back on his back. "Why did you-" Joey began.

Seto cut him off, saying, "Keep it, I have a lot more." Joey only nodded… again.

They both got up when Seto's limo pulled to a stop in front of them a few seconds later. The young CEO pulled Joey's arm over his neck, helped him to the limo, and opened the door for him, but before he could get in Joey was pushed up against the side of the limousine. Seto looked down at him, eyes half-lidded, and lips parted slightly._(3)_

"W-what are you doing?" Joey stuttered while fighting to control his rising blush at their closeness. He'd been doing a lot of blushing lately. _'Wonder why.' _Though he new the reason. He just didn't want to accept it.

"I've wanted to do this for a long time." Seto whispered seductively into his ear. Then, Seto's soft lips were upon his. Joey melted against the kiss and Seto bit his lower lip, asking for entrance. Joey granted it to him and Seto explored it happily. It sent waves of pleasure up and down his spine and found himself pressing closer to Seto's body. He silently wondered, _'Ra, is this a dream?'_ Then the lips were gone, and he was pushed.

'_I'm falling,' _Joey looked around him and knew instantly that was the case. All around him was darkness and above him was a receding rectangle of light. Standing in it was his father, Joseph Wheeler, looking down at him menacingly. Joseph Wheeler was far from handsome. That's something everyone notices at first when they look at him. All that drinking and smoking and Ra knows what else does that to you. He had scraggly, gray-streaked brown hair, thick, hairy arms and legs, and a large beer belly. Plus his face looked almost like that of an old, eighty year old man, and he was only forty-four._(4)_

His father, as well as the doorway, disappeared, and he suddenly felt himself hit the floor of his apartment, though he felt no pain. Over him loomed his father, once again, and Joey flinched as his father grabbed him by the front of his school shirt and lifted him up.

"Dad, don't. I won't do it again, I swear." Joey apologized weakly, not even sure what he was sorry for. His father punched him in the gut and the air was literally knocked from him. Then he was pushed out the front door of his rundown apartment. As he was about to hit the cracked and dirty sidewalk it faded away, leaving nothing in it's place.

And he fell. And fell. And fell. And screamed.

_&-&_

_Seto_

Crimson. That was the current color of his face. Red as a baboon's butt as some say. A compromising situation it was indeed. Joey's arms where wrapped around him and he was asleep. What would Seto do? Why, blush more of course! And that's what he did. He had been stuck like that for two hours already, and time flies when you're having perverted thoughts and mental images.

Shaking himself out of his thoughts, though, he finally tried to pry Joey's arms from his waist, but to no avail. The mutt was _not_ budging. He tugged and tugged and tugged on Joey's arms but there was no such luck. After a few more tries he threw his arms up in defeat and went back to inspecting the blonde's wounds and such.

He traced the long scar that went from Joey's shoulder to disappear under the wrappings. It looked kind of recent, and pretty wide; about one and a half inches wide. It also looked as if the weapon –no doubt a knife- was dragged across it several times to make it deeper and wider. He also noted it zigzagged slightly, as if he had struggled when it happened. Seto inwardly winced at that and how painful it must have been when it happened. He wouldn't –no matter how cruel some thought him to be- wish that on anyone. But in his mind a small voice, his conscience, whispered, _'-Except for the pup's tormentor/s.-'_ And his own mind agreed to it without him even realizing it. So, after ogling it for a few more seconds he moved on to look at other gashes and bruises.

When Joey began to stir, though, he replaced the bandages and pulled Joey's shirt back down, also switching off his mini flashlight and putting it back in his pocket. Then Joey's arms released the CEO and hugged himself. Seto heard, with surprise, that Joey was whimpering something, barely audible. He leaned in closer, trying to catch what he was saying, but it was all a jumble. Then Joey screamed as if he were in pain, his eyes snapping open, and he shot up and forward, trying to run. Seto heard a yelp of pain then witnessed in the darkness as Joey fell due to his broken ankle, slid across the icy floor, and hit the opposite wall with a _crash_ and a groan.

Immediately Seto was up and over by his side, ignoring how he had missed the warmth of Joey's body leaning against his. Then he hoisted Joey up by grabbing him under the arms and holding him steady. Barely, he heard Joey mutter, "Damn ice." Finally, Seto helped Joey to sit back down, leaning on the wall, and he sat beside him.

Without even realizing it, the older Kaiba brother thanked whatever god was up there that the pup was okay. Deep within, in that seemingly iced over heart of his, he knew he would have blamed himself if Joey had gotten hurt. With all those gashes and such Seto was surprised and impressed the pup could even stand without keeling over in pain. But Joey was tough, and he knew that his puppy was probably just holding up a front to protect his friends. His friends and family always came first to Joey Wheeler, or so it had always been to Seto's and everyone else's eyes.

Then Seto realized what he had thought. _'MY PUPPY? Where the hell did that come from? It must be stress. And since when have I cared about the mutt?'_ He was about to bang his head on the wall repeatedly but stopped himself before the actual process of damaging his head could begin. He sighed and held his head, hoping for some miracle to answer all his questions.

"Thank you." Joey said it so suddenly and quickly he was caught off guard. Letting his head go he turned toward the blonde duelist beside him, raising an elegant eyebrow that went unseen in the darkness.

"Huh?" was all he managed to say as he wondered if he heard the blonde correctly. Joey never thanked to him. Never. That always seemed to be rule Numero Uno around them. They never said polite things to each other. Yet here was his enemy, breaking the unwritten rule by thanking him. For what, though, he was unsure.

Then, as if reading his thoughts. "For helping me, twice, and letting me borrow you coat. Thank you."

And hesitantly, the Kaiba nodded. "No problem." And before he could stop himself he blurted out, "Where did all those bruises and cuts come from?"

_&-&_

_Joey_

The golden-haired teen tensed at that question. How would he explain this one? _'And how did Kaiba find out?' _he asked, feeling anger well up inside him for no reason. _'He's _definitely _not supposed to know!' _But what he said was, "It's nothing, Kaiba." Though it sounded snappier than he had intended.

"Those bruises aren't 'nothing'" Seto snapped back. Joey said nothing; too busy trying to think up an elaborate excuse. He really hated to lie, especially to Seto, though he denied it with every fiber of his being, but when forced to, Joey could be one of the best liars out there. But right then and there he was drawing a blank.

"I-I, uh, t-they're from, and I, uh," All he could do was stutter incomprehensible sentences… Or something like that. So, he opted for half-truth that was only half of the story. "I got into a fight." Sure, he left out the whole 'father' ordeal, but he really did get into a fight.

Recently, the past two weeks, in fact, a gang had taken a liking to the former street punk. Just about everyday they jumped him in some deserted place. That's why Joey sometimes went as far as to tail people randomly so as not to get jumped by the gang. Of course, they could catch him near his apartment, so it didn't matter. He just liked to prolong it and occasionally he would make it. Yesterday had been one such lucky day.

"Uh-huh." Joey could hear the sarcasm dripping from Seto's comment. "Do you get in fights on a daily bases? Some of those look a little old, all leading up to ones more recent, as if they happen every day."

Joey mentally cursed. _'Damn Seto Kaiba and him being so perceptive!'_ "It's not important, money-bags! They're nothing! And why would you care?" Joey yelled, unsure of why he was angry. Then, a growl reached his ears and he stared over at the brunet. "What the hell was that?" There was another growl and he realized what it was. Instantly his anger dissipated and he giggled. GIGGLED! Though he'd never admit it, even if someone had proof, he giggled! He was pretty sure Seto must be gaping at him.

And it was all because the great Seto Kaiba couldn't control his stomach as it practically growled, "Feed me or you will all be ensured a horrible, painful death involving the spleen and a spatula!"(5) "Stop laughing, mutt!" Seto demanded vehemently.

Of course, his _kind_ –note the sarcasm- request was ignored as Joey continued giggling madly. Finally, he took a few deep gulps of the cold freezer air and calmed down. "Alright, Kaiba, I stopped." Though he still had a large grin on his face. "Here, you can have this if you're so hungry." Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out the last Twix and the fortune he received earlier today. Or was it yesterday? Time is hard to tell if you have no watch and you're stuck in your school cafeteria's freezer.

He looked at the fortune and scowled. _'Stupid fortune! I bet you caused this!' _He stuffed it back into his pocket and held out the Twix to the silhouette of Seto. He felt the candy bar leave his hand and heard Kaiba ask, "What is this?" Joey sighed.

"Haven't you ever eaten a Twix bar before?" Joey asked. He knew Seto usually didn't eat junk food, but he had to have had a Twix before. And how, exactly, did he know that? Well, that's a story for another time. Anyways, back to the matter at hand.

"…" There was silence from Seto before Joey heard him reply: "Mokuba stuffed one in my mouth once, at Halloween." Joey sighed sadly. "What?"

"You poor, depraved child, you." Even though Seto was older than Joey. He shook his head in mock despair. What person didn't like Twix's? It was unheard of! "Eat that and you will see the light!" At that he took on the tone of a priest. "Eat that and you will know the meaning of life!" From beside him he heard Seto snort. "Okay, so you won't, but you don't have to spoil it for me." He muttered, pouting.

The wrapper of the Twix crackled as Seto unwrapped it. Joey could hear the audible crunch as he took a bite of it and his mind began to wander. And it wandered straight over to the cold-hearted CEO sitting next to him. Soon he was thinking of what it would be like if he could see Seto eat the last Twix. In his minds eye he could see it clearly. But, before his fantasies could progress even further Seto interrupted them. "This isn't bad, mutt. It was pretty good." Joey gasped and pretended to faint from shock. He could see Seto looking at him in the gloomy darkness. "What is it now?"

"The great Seto Kaiba likes junk food! I'm so shocked!" Joey acted as if he were in awe of the simple fact, though anyone could see that he didn't mean it.

"The great Seto Kaiba? What's that mean?" Seto asked coolly. Joey's face heated up as he thought about what he had just said and what Kaiba must've meant.

"It didn't mean anything, Seto!" Joey snarled. Silence filled the freezer when the next insult he had prepared to hurl died on his tongue instantly as he realized what he had said. He had said _Seto _not Kaiba, _Seto_! And Seto had noticed because the next thing that broke the silence was:

"Did you just say my name?"

&-&-&

&-&-&_**M**y dreams and thoughts are of you_&-&-&

&-&-&

_(1) _I don't know much about broken ankles, I've never broken mine.

(2) Not _those_ cheeks! The face! Perverts…

(3) You may say that description is over-used, but I say it's tried and true!

(4) I hate it when people say they look alike, for some reason. Sure, I've never seen him, but I don't think they look alike! Has anyone ever seen him? Will someone show me what he really looks like? How 'bout alink to a place that shows it?

(5) My cat looks at me like that when I forget to feed him, only it's more like: "Feed me or you will soon find yourself dieing a slow and very _painful_ death!" And it's really scary!

A/N: Okay, minna-san, that's a rap… for now, anyways. We still have a whole lot of chapters (9 more) before we're done! I'm sorry to some of you,I promised this to be out sooner but I couldn't get it out when I intended. It's been a whole month! To Apathetic-Vampire-Wolf, I will dedicate a special Tea bashing chapter to you at the end of all this! You just have to be patient, okay? I may be a bit lazy when it comes to updating. AND A SPECIAL THANKS TO YOU, TOO! You unknowingly helped me get over my writer's block with your SetoJou stories! SO EVERYONE THANK HER BECAUSE SHE IS THE ONLY REASON YOU'RE READING THIS NOW! Okay, I took up too much space with my A/N so thanks to all who reviewed and those who added me to their Favorite and Alert Lists and all my readers! Please leave a Review! I accept flames! They actually encourage me! Well, bye!

Insomniac Jaki


	4. A

Updated 7/1/05

_Yume Genjitsu_

_Chapter: A_

_Seto_

The mutt had called him by his name! It had amazed even him! And let me tell you, that's a very hard feat to do. Anyways, he had asked the puppy about it, but Joey couldn't seem to come up with a reason. Then, something struck Seto. _Does he… like me?_

Joey babbled out things that made no sense, as if he were asking Seto to make them make sense. Then, something caused him to cease his incoherent babbling. Seto immediately thanked Ra for that. It was getting on his nerves. "Are you done?" he asked.

"Shut up, I heard something." Joey replied, whispering.

"What is it?" Seto lowered the volume of his voice, too. He strained his ears but heard nothing._ Maybe the mutt is going crazy. _He thought. Then he heard it. A small squeaking sound. And it came from across from them.

"I think," Joey began slowly, as if not completely sure. "I think someone's trying to open the door." Another squeak, louder this time, echoed around the freezer as the metal door finally opened up. Light poured in, and Seto was temporarily blinded. During that short moment of vision impairment, a shadow appeared in the doorway, and the blonde next to him let out a shout.

"Watch where you're throwing, that thing almost hit me!"

"Hmm? What the hell?" came from the figure blocking the door. Seto's eyes had finally adjusted so he could see better, but the person was still a shadow from his spot in the door. "What the hell are you kids doing in there?" the person, an old man by the sound of his voice, asked. "You're supposed to be at home, doing homework and all that stuff! Or were you two trying to make out in that freezer?" Seto blushed at that. "Well, that's an odd place to do it! In my day, if we wanted to play tonsil hockey, we would-!"

"That's nice, old man, but we really don't need to hear your story!" Seto finally yelled.

"And we weren't makin' out!" Joey yelled, but not sounding as angry as Seto would think. "We were stuck in this freezer for hours!"

"Well, okay, if you say so," he replied. Seto had a feeling he was smirking. "But you two look like you would make a great couple!"

"Whatever." Seto muttered. He stood up and immediately picked up Joey. The mutt would only hurt himself more if by trying to walk. He only vaguely noted that the pup didn't put up a fight.

"Hmm, what happened to your friend there?" When Seto was back in the kitchen, he finally got a good look at the old man. He was short, maybe a few inches taller than Yugi. He had gray hair that was sticking out from under a dark gray janitor's hat, and light blue eyes, that showed openly that the old guy loved to have fun. He was wearing a janitor's uniform that was the same color as his hat and gray shoes, and, as is common for old people, he had wrinkly skin._(1)_

"My ankle's broken." Joey answered, while Seto studied the guy. The old man chuckled, almost maniacally, and motioned for Seto to follow him. So, they walked along for almost five minutes before suddenly the old man brandished a mop in his face.

"Watch where you're stepping! I just mopped there!" he yelled, moving the mop so that it pointed at the yellow '**WET FLOOR'** sign. Seto stepped around the area and continued following the old man. As they walked, the old man told them where they were going, and who he was. "By the way, my name's Rider, the janitor, and we're headed toward the nurse's office, though she's not here right now. But, no need to worry; I know how to patch up a broken ankle!" Again, he chuckled in that almost-but-not-quite maniacal way of his, and walked into the nurse's office, which they had finally come to. As he entered, Seto wondered if Rider was crazy.

"Just lay him down here," -he motioned with his mop toward a small bedlike thing- "and I'll fix that broken ankle in a jiffy!" Seto did as he was told. When he looked down at Joey, he noticed that the pup was asleep and mentally drooled at the picture. _So cute…_ Then he mentally slapped himself for thinking such thoughts about his sworn enemy.

However, he was thrown from his mental beatings when Rider pushed him out the door and into a hard wooden chair in the hall. "Just wait here!" And before he could react, the door was slammed shut.

So, while he waited, he pondered one important question that even I can't figure out the answer to. _What makes Joey my sworn enemy? _He didn't notice that he had used his name and not mutt or puppy or some other name referring to a dog. And, as he racked his mind for an answer, he found none. Sure, Joey was constantly trying to beat_(2) _Seto in Duel Monsters, but that was it. There was no reason they couldn't be friends. But Seto immediately pushed that thought away, thinking sadly, _Joey hates me, we could never be friend. Besides, we're too different._

His pondering was cut short when he heard a cry of pain ring out from behind the thick oak door of the nurse's office. He stood, knocking the chair over in the process, and pushed the door open, rushing in. Inside, he found Rider sitting in the chair next to the bed, and Joey still asleep, though his face was contorted in pain. Without thinking, he blurted out, "What happened?"

"Hmm? Oh, I just popped the ankle back in place! It was a good thing he was asleep, or else he would have hurt more." He said, grinning.

Seto wanted to punch him. "You popped it back in place? Is that even possible?"

"Of course it is!" he replied happily. "Why, in my day, we did it all the time! It was the best cure for broken bones back then! Nowadays, you have to wait six weeks for bones to heal! Why wait that long when it's easier to pop them back in place_(3)_?" The old man was beginning to ramble and it was getting on his nerves.

"Okay, old man! I get it!" Seto sighed, absentmindedly running a hand through his chocolate_(4)_ colored hair. "Alright, I'll take him home now."

"Oh, and be sure to keep him off that ankle for three days! Got it?" Rider called after him.

"Right, I'll do that!" he called back. "Oh, and old man?"

"Hmm?"

Seto turned back, smiling slightly. "Thanks for helping him." Then he walked on.

Of course, the sweet, dramatic moment was ruined when Rider called after him, "Alright! But, next time you want to make out, try a closet and-!"

Seto rushed away, his face red as a tomato.

_&-&_

When he was finally outside the school and his face had returned to it's normal paleness, he took a deep breath of the open air. Only then did he realize that he didn't know where Joey lived. He looked down at said boy's angelic face, eyes closed in sleep and pink tongue hanging out slightly. One of the reason's Seto always calls Joey a pup was right in front of him; he looked like one when he slept. And it was so adorable! Though, Seto would _never_ admit that to anyone!

He sighed, whether in annoyance or happiness he wasn't sure, at the thought of having to bring the sleeping koinu_(5)_ home with him. Then, he began the long trek to his mansion. And, every now and then, Joey would shift in his arms and snuggle into Seto's chest, and the brunette would unconsciously held him tighter.

_&-&-&_

_&-&-&**E**verything I do my mind always comes back to you&-&-&_

_&-&-&_

(1) Don't bitch at me for adding a slightly crazy person to help the story along. Besides, if I didn't add him, none of that crap would have happened and Joey would probably have had to go home to his evil dad! Boy, this stuff just writes itself! I didn't even _plan_ to use him! Oh, Rider is mine! Ask to use him!

(2) I almost typed 'eat' instead of 'beat'. That's what happens when you don't eat.

(3) Once again, I don't know _anything_ about broken ankles and that stuff. Please, inform me!

(4) I almost typed 'chocolate hair' instead of 'chocolate _colored_ hair'. Once again, the result of not eating to type up this short chapter. They say artists must suffer for their work. dramatic sigh

(5) Koinu, if my translations are correct, means puppy. It's Japanese.

A/N: Well, sorry it was so short, but I haven't eaten, my mind is screwed, I have Writers Block on this story, and I've got a lot going on right now. I've started guitar lessons, and my little brother and me have switched rooms, my room's been painted Hot Red, which is really the color of blood, and my Naruto cosplay items have been ordered! It cost me a whole $41.85 plus shipping! I got it from yesanimation (DOT) com! I'm so excited! Anyways, please review! I accept flames! I love to bitch at flamers! Well, bye!

Insomniac Jaki


	5. M

Updated 8/11/05

_Yume Genjitsu_

_Chapter: M_

_Joey_

The cushions under him were soft, but firm. He could tell, without opening his eyes, that he was in a bed. Yes. After many years of unexpectedly waking up in a hospital, he knew what a bed felt like. And, the more he thought about it, the more his mind cleared from the sleep induced hazed. _If I'm in a bed, then that must mean I'm in the hospital. And if I'm in the hospital, which means something really bad must have happened for me to be put… in here…_

With a jolt, Joey sat up in the bed he was in and looked around quickly, wondering what had happened. It took a few seconds for him to realize that he wasn't in the hospital, but a room. It was a nice one, too. The walls were a sunny yellow that made the room appear to glow slightly in the morning light that was pouring in from the window. Opposite of the door was said window and the bed Joey was sitting on. The bed was pushed into the corner so that the head of it was just out of the sun. On the right wall were two doors side by side. One, Joey assumed, was probably the bathroom, the other a closet. Next to the bed was a polished bedside table. On it was a lamp and an empty picture frame.

Hearing a creak, Joey looked to the door leading into the room. It was opened slightly, but no one came in. He shrugged and looked out the window, to see if he could find anything that would tell him where he was. But, before he could, something soft and furry brushed against his arm. Joey's head jerked back around and he looked down at the bed. There, sniffing his arm, was a blue bunny. Joey looked at it questioningly, wondering what it was doing and if it knew where he was. And, just because he had nothing else to do, he asked, "Hey, do you know where I am?"

A laugh was his only answer. …Wait a minute… A laugh? He looked up quickly, following the sound of it to the source. There, standing in the doorway, was… Mokuba! Mokuba stopped laughing and smiled cheerfully. "Hello, Joey!"

"Hello, Mokuba." The bunny nudged Joey's hand, signaling that it wanted to be petted. Joey complied.

"Wow, he sure seems to like you." Mokuba motioned to the bunny, which was trying to climb up the sleeve of the red silk pajamas he was wearing. Joey hadn't even realized what he was wearing until the bunny had tried to climb up them. It made it to Joey's shoulder before attempting the climb to the top of his head. Mokuba stifled a giggle behind his hand. "He's never this nice to anyone he's just met. Once, when Seto got a new maid, she tried to pet him and nearly got her finger bitten off! She quit immediately." he said, waving a finger in his face excitedly.

"He won't bight _me_, will he?" Joey asked, becoming slightly nervous. The bunny had managed to climb along the side of his head, and was now perched happily on his head.

Mokuba seemed to study them closely for a minute before saying: "No, he won't. He likes you too much."

Joey sighed in relief, visibly relaxing. "Okay, so what's his name?"

"Bewd."

"What kind of name is that?" Joey wondered, though it did sound slightly familiar.

"It's the initials for Blue-Eyes White Dragon!" Mokuba said, reaching up and plucking the bunny off of Joey's head.

"Why is the bunny blue?" Yes, the most important question of them all. Because, really, has anyone ever seen a blue bunny? I mean, besides on cartoons and Anime.

"Me and Seto dyed him blue!" And, as Joey was about to open his mouth to ask another question, Mokuba, as if reading his mind, answered. "Yes, you are in Kaiba mansion." Then, he bounced out of the room like an overly hyperactive bunny, muttering something about 'feeding all these animals' and 'stupid older brothers'. Joey grinned at Mokuba's antics before wondering where his clothes were and who had removed them in the first place.

Joey blushed at the thought of Seto seeing him naked, and then mentally berated himself. _Why would Seto want to see _me, _of all people, naked?_ He thought sadly. _And I SHOULDN'T BE SAD! Beside, he's so rich he could have anyone he wanted, so why would he want me?_ And, suddenly, for no real reason he could see but I'm sure all you readers can, he became frustrated at the weird thoughts invading his head. After all, why would he want Seto to see him naked? And why would he care if Seto already liked someone?

Sighing in frustration, he stood and walked out of the room, pushing the odd thoughts to the back of his mind. As he walked, he noticed that his foot seemed to be numb. He could feel absolutely nothing, but still managed to walk. He remembered yesterday, and the old man who had popped his ankle back into place. He groped for the name, before one finally came to him. _Rider._ That was his name. "Crazy old man…" he muttered. And, just like that, his previous thoughts about Seto were forgotten. Well, more like stuffed to the back of his head. They would return for sure.

_&-&_

Halls, doors, and more halls. That's all he saw for almost thirty minutes. A few minutes before he had stumbled across the laundry room and his clothes, and he had happily changed back into them. The pajamas had been placed carefully into the hamper, and he had been off, exploring the labyrinth of halls once again.

Now, though, Joey found himself standing in front some double doors. From behind it, he could hear several sounds, much like those an animal makes. Therefore, out of curiosity, he pushed open one of the doors -the left- just a crack, and peered inside.

He gaped in astonishment at what he saw. The room was _huge_! And, inside were rows and rows of cages in different sizes, each containing a different type of animal. Over the sound of the noisy animals, Joey could make out someone yelling angrily. He looked to his left, searching for whoever it was, and saw a flash of something raven go by. He walked toward it slowly, not wanting to get into anything he couldn't handle. Then he saw the raven thing again, and it stopped in front of him.

"Mokuba, what are you doing?" Joey asked as said boy jumped up and down wildly, reaching for something.

"Oh, hey Joey!" Mokuba paused from his jumping to wave, then returned to it. "I'm trying to catch Niwatori! He got out of his cage and I still have to feed him!" Joey looked up. Above Mokuba and slightly above his own head was a brown bird that could fit easily into the palm of his hand. Every time Mokuba jumped up the bird flew just out of reach. After about five minutes of Mokuba explaining that he took care of the animals while Seto was working and jumping up and down at the same time Joey had it all straightened out.

"So, the animals are named after dual monsters?" Joey asked.

"Yeah!" Mokua panted, finally getting tired of jumping up and down for so long.

"Okay." And with that, Joey reached up and held out his hand. Niwatori immediately flew to it, perching on Joey's finger. He looked to Mokuba, silently laughing at his face. He looked just a bit angry…

"YOU COULD HAVE DONE THAT THE WHOLE TIME AND YOU JUST STOOD THERE AND DID NOTHING?"

Okay, he was pissed.

But Joey didn't care. "Yep!"

"THEN WHY DIDN'T YOU DO IT IN THE FIRST PLACE?" Mokuba yelled angrily, glaring daggers at him.

"Because it was funny watching you jump." Joey said simply, shrugging. Mokuba sighed in annoyance.

"Oh, fine! Be that way!" Mokuba pouted, but soon he was smiling again and all anger towards Joey seemed to be forgotten. "So, while you're in here, will you help me feed the animals? You seem to be good with them."

Joey nodded enthusiastically, grinning widely. "Sure, I love animals! So, what animal is next?" However, while they worked, Joey's mind traveled to the reason behind him being so good with animals. It was quite simple really. On the weekends, he worked at a pet shop! Hey, he had to get money somehow, and taking care of the animals was fun for him. Of course, no one but him and his boss new he worked there. Joey's friends didn't even know about it, let alone his dad. But, that was for the best. His friends would have questioned why he needed a job and Joseph Wheeler would have just stolen his money anyways and spent it on booze and cigarettes.

Joey mentally sighed. If only someone really loved him, someone needed him, then he'd be happier. Someone who would accept him and maybe even help him. _Someone like Seto..._ But this time he didn't bother with berating himself. He had figured it all out. Somewhere along the line, Joey had fallen madly in love with the coldhearted CEO.

_&-&-&_

_&-&-&**G**ood thing I've figured it out&-&-&_

_&-&-&_

A/N: I finally updated! Whoo! To bad it was so short. But, I figured that if Seto gets a whole chapter to himself, then so does Joey! (sigh) Anyways, have you noticed the lines at the end of the chapter? There's an explanation for those in my profile, so go look if you're curious. Well, please review! I accept flames! I love to bitch at the flamers! :D Well, bye!

Insomniac Jaki


	6. R II

Updated: 2/23/07 Chapter alternately titled: "Let's Give 'Em Something to Be Shocked About!"

_Yume Genjitsu_

_R_

_Joey_

"Uh, I'll be right back!" Mokuba disappeared so suddenly, Joey almost wondered if he hadn't just imagined that the hyper-active kid had been there. But with Mokuba's disappearance came the just-as-sudden appearance of Seto Kaiba, and Joey almost wanted a hole to open up randomly in the earth and swallow him up. Anything would be better at that moment than being in the same room as the object of his affections –alone. What if he let something slip?

Joey tried his best to pretend he didn't notice the other, instead looking at the room around him, which he had become distracted from when he was helping Mokuba feed the mass amount of animals.

Cages, as he had called them before, was exactly what they weren't. It was more like a bunch of enclosed mini habitats. Animals ranging from the normal house cat or dog to the extravagant cheetah he could just see out of the corner of his eye played, ate, and slept in them contentedly. Too think, all of the animals here were named after dual monsters.

"Hey, Wheeler," came the cold voice of one cobalt-eyed CEO. I mean, who else could it be? Joey had practically given him the cold-shoulder as soon as he walked in. "I think you owe me an explanation."

'_Oh Ra, no.' _Joey thought, going into deer-in-headlights mode –in which he froze and stared straight ahead, back to Seto, mind racing at the words that came at him like a truck on the freeway.

"Ah, what are you talking' about?" Joey spun around, forcing a grin that felt too big and too fake. Why was it that all his lies and facades seemed to want to shrivel around Seto? Love or not, he should still be able to lie like a pro!

"Don't give me that, mutt." growled Seto, glaring at him. Joey noticed absently that he had gotten his trench coat back. Or found another one and burned the one he had let the blonde borrow. Wow, that was a depressing thought. His smile kinda dimmed at the thought and Seto's words.

"Where did you get those cuts and bruises?" The older teen moved closer, backing him into a corner no one seemed to notice before between a ferret's and a mongoose's habitat; conveniently blocking all exits Joey might have been considering. "And don't say you got into a fight." A hand grabbed the front of Joey's shirt, pulling him closer. Joey was torn between euphoric glory at being this close to him and pure terror at the look in Seto's eyes –_'Oh shit, I'm gonna get murdered by the guy I secretly love! Life sucks so much.'_

"Uh, well, see, I really _did _get into a fight. Kinda…" He trailed off, unsure of what he wanted to say. Could he tell him the truth? Maybe if he just reiterated his half-truth from before, but with a few more believable details, that would work. Because he really didn't want to tell Seto that he couldn't stick up for himself against his own father. Imagining how the brunet would look at him after that –with disgust for being _that _weak instead of annoyance for being a nuisance- was the deciding factor.

Yeah, okay. "You know that I don't fight anymore since I became friends with Yugi, right?" At the nod he received, he continued. "Well, before I met Yugi, I used to have a lot of enemies; rival gangs and what-not. Of course, I met Yugi, and at first we didn't pull it off so well, but when we _did_ become friends and I gave up fighting and bein' in a gang, my former gang members saw that as a bit of a weakness. As if I was wussin' out on them. …Know what I mean?"

A tiny smirk had made its way onto Seto's face, and he nodded again. Joey also nodded, knowing that the older teen probably did. Only the difference was that Seto knew what it was like in the business world, not on the streets. "They've been after me for a while for it. Them and a few other gangs, but mostly just them."

"But all of those marks can't be just from them." Seto muttered softly, eyes focused on the general area of Joey's chest. Joey found himself blushing at the way Seto was looking at him: as if he might be concerned for his well-being. …Or maybe he was hungry, and Joey's shirt had manifested itself into a burger in Seto's eyes. _Wishful thinking on my part_, Joey was sure. Not the burger part, though.

"You'd be surprised." Joey said in answer. "A gang can do a lot more than what they've done to me so far. A lot worse, as well." Shuddering at the thought, he backed into the wall and slid down it into a cross-legged sitting position.

"Like…?" Seto prodded, now towering over the younger boy.

Joey looked at him as if he had grown a few extra heads, and one of them was breathing fire. …On second thought, considering his best friend had a thousand year old spirit pharaoh living in a puzzle around his neck, and they were frequently dragged off on random Save-the-World Campaigns, if Seto really _did _sprout a few extra fire-breathing heads, it probably wouldn't surprise him that much.

…But in this case, the look did it's job.

"Do you really have to ask?" Joey returned, raising a disbelieving eyebrow. Seto seemed to consider this for all of a millisecond.

"Rape?" Seto asked with widening eyes filled with alarm. Joey nodded. Seto sighed, sitting down in front of Joey, also cross-legged. "They wouldn't really do that, would they?"

"You've obviously never been around many gangs in your lifetime." Joey sighed, drooping a bit and managing to look every bit the puppy Seto called him. "If I couldn't defend myself, then yeah, it would probably happen. Oh, sure, maybe one of my old gang wouldn't do it –but they have connections they're not afraid to use."

Silence reigned for a while after that. Well, as silent as one can have when one is in a room full of animals ranging from the norm to the exotic. And some of which had natural predator/prey relationships with other animals.

_Seto_

"How could they possibly want to do something like that?"

"Plenty of reasons. Some of 'em are stupid reasons, though. Most of the time, it's as punishment, or revenge." Joey replied listlessly, still staring at the ground.

To him, the whole thing seemed so wrong. Why _anyone _would want to do that to Joey bothered the hell out of him. Joey was just too nice. _And too cute._

Self control attempted to desert him as he, for the umpteenth time, felt the need to bash his own head in. _He's not cute, he's a mutt!_ Ah, but the look Joey was giving the ground was so unhappy, like a kicked puppy. Looking at Joey's expression, he felt he should do something, or help him, but he didn't know how.

_No, wait…_ Seto, unseen by Joey, grinned. He didn't normally do this, as he was _supposed _to be a cold-hearted bastard, and if anyone saw it (Take his fanclub for instance), they might just keel over in shock. Inside his mind, he was dancing a jig, and couldn't resist the thought that followed. _Oh, hells yeah._ Mokuba always said it when he got a good idea.

&-&-&

&-&_**E**ven in this pain of mine_&-&

&-&-&

A/N: You guys must be having aneurysms of surprise (Just like Seto's fanclub would if he cracked a smile). I know, it's a fucking miracle! An update. From me. On a story I can guarantee half of you don't remember reading! But this week, I got really encouraging reviews, so I wrote this chapter. And just today, I got inspiration in the _weirdest _way. I was with my JROTC company as they played Ultimate Frisbee, staring at the sky and pondering Yu-Gi-Oh, when it hit me. _The greatest idea of how to finish this story._ I felt as if the Frisbee had taken a dive at my head. In fact, it did, but that's not where the inspiration came from.

So, I solemnly swear upon my deck that I will finish this story before my birthday (5/4)!


End file.
